A touchscreen is an input device normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information handling system. A user can give input or control the information processing system through simple or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with a special stylus/pen and-or one or more fingers. The user can use the touchscreen to react to what is displayed and to control how it is displayed; for example, zooming to increase the text size. The touchscreen enables the user to interact directly with what is displayed, rather than using a mouse, touchpad, or other input device.
Touchscreens are common in devices such as game consoles, personal computers, tablet computers, electronic voting machines, and smartphones. They can also be attached to computers or, as terminals, to networks. Touchscreens are also used in other types of information handling systems such as smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and electronic book readers.
The popularity of smartphones, tablets, and many types of information appliances is driving the demand and acceptance of common touchscreens for portable and functional electronics. Touchscreens are found in the medical field and in heavy industry, as well as for automated teller machines (ATMs), and kiosks such as museum displays or room automation, where other input devices do not allow a suitably intuitive, rapid, or accurate interaction by the user with the display's content.
Traditional touch screens require the user to touch the screen to perform an action which limits the number of actions that can be performed in response to information displayed.